According to the North American media Business Insidera SpaceX hostess claims that Elon Musk asked her “to do more” during an in-flight massage. This case of sexual harassment would have been the subject of an agreement around $250,000.
SpaceX, the company with reusable launchers, would have paid the sum of $250,000 to an air hostess in order to ensure her silence. The alleged victim, who worked as a crew member on a company flight, is said to have suffered inappropriate advances from Elon Musk. According to an article by Business Insiderthe businessman, founder of the aerospace firm, would have offered him sexual relations.
This flight attendant is said to have told a friend that after working her job, she was encouraged to get a masseuse license in order to massage the tycoon. However, during one of these sessions, his boss would have had a predatory attitude, notably exposing his erect penis to him without his consent and offering to offer him a horse in exchange for an erotic “finish”. The hostess would then have refused and continued the massage without engaging in any sexual practice.
According to Business Insider, the victim filed a complaint with SpaceX’s human resources department in 2018, detailing the episode. In November of the same year, an agreement was finally reached, granting the plaintiff the payment of $250,000 in exchange for a promise of no legal proceedings.
Past charges against Musk’s companies
Contacted by the media, Elon Musk denied the accusations. “If I was inclined to engage in sexual harassment, it’s unlikely this will be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it’s been revealed”, he wrote. SpaceX’s vice president of legal declined to comment further. The friend of the hostess for her part indicated that at least one other person would have undergone the attitude of Elon Musk and hopes that this one will manifest.
This is not the first time that the multi-billionaire and his companies have been targeted. In December 2021, Tesla was targeted by six complaints citing a corporate culture that allegedly promotes sexual harassment and the automaker’s failure to take adequate measures to protect victims.
Each time, the testimonies repeat the same elements: the work environment at Tesla is conducive to inappropriate gestures, words and allusions towards women. Very insistent comments about their bodies and their clothes, insults and inappropriate contact are said to be frequent, forcing some women to voluntarily wear very baggy clothes. Same thing and same temporality at SpaceX where four women denounced sexual harassment within the company.